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it seems to me that the theory which would elevate man from an original 
condition of barbarism, would involve an immense number of miracles, 
especially as the progress of civilization was manifested at a very early 
period. But supposing man to have started from a high state of civilization, 
how are we to account for his subsequent degradation in so many instances ? 
Suppose he was created with very high and exalted views of religion, and so 
on ; I want to know under what law of human nature the degradation we 
find manifested in history has been distinctly brought about. The Egyptians 
have been referred to, and there can be no doubt that Egyptian civilization 
reached a very high standard at an early period, and it would be impossible 
to suppose that it sprung from original barbarism. But when I look at 
Egyptian theology, I find an extensively complicated system, which, if we 
suppose it arose from savagedom, or the want of civilization, must have 
taken an immense number of years to have evolved from such a condition. 
On the other hand, if it arose from a corrupt or degraded civilization, it must 
have taken a considerable period of time to have produced such a degra- 
dation. I admit that the degradation of religion and morality follows a 
much more rapid law of progress than anything else, but I am fully persuaded 
by history, that it does take a long period to effect so very great a change. 
The case of India has been referred to, and we are introduced to the writings 
of the Hindoos. But I want to know at what period the Pantheism of 
India originated. The religion of India, and all the oriental religions, were 
based on Pantheism. Now, Pantheism is a very great degradation from any 
pure form of religion, and must have taken a very long period to have 
arrived ; for I am satisfied that the religions of the historical period have 
undergone a very slow process of change. Take the state of religion and mo- 
rality in the age of the Homeric poems, and again in the time of Pericles, and 
I do not think it had undergone any process of improvement in the interval. 
The progress of change is exceedingly slow in the course of history, until 
you come to the history of Christianity, which, being supernatural, is re- 
moved from the catalogue. Take Judaism : I apprehend it took from the 
Mosaic period to the Captivity to raise up a proper conception of monarchy. 
The elaboration of a religious system is a slow process, and that being so, 
and admitting the early date of civilization, we are led into this difficulty, 
that it requires a very considerable interval of time during which the various 
religious systems were elaborating. 
Rev. Mr. White. — I would merely ask, is it not a fallacy to suppose 
that a complicated language implies a high degree of civilization ? Where 
you find a language with many inflexions, and a complicated grammar, is it 
not rather a mark of defectiveness in, instead of excess of, civilization ? If 
it is true that a complicated grammar and numerous inflexions prove a high 
degree of civilization, then our own language is a very great anomaly, because 
no language that has yet arisen has more completely thrown away its in- 
flexions and diminished the number of its grammatical forms. 
Rev. A. De La Mare. — Reference has been made to the deterioration 
both of the Latin and Greek languages within a definite period of time — say 
